Homemade turkey meatloaf. I did a mix of ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, grated sweet onion, shredded sharp cheddar, oyster sauce, hoisin, and gochujang. Plus dinosaur kale sauteed with salt, pepper, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, and butter.
A surprisingly good dinner at the Comet Club. We enjoyed the crab toast and also had the hamachi tostada which came with great house-made guacamole.
We tried several drinks. We both enjoyed this layered negroni but my favorite was actually the French Onion Gibson (vodka with onion consommé, sherry, dry vermouth, and onion brine!).
I had a Waygu French Dip off of the specials menu and it was perfect. My leftovers were still great too.
Plus we got the cheesecake which was solid but probably not something I’d order again.
P.S. Of course my pre-dinner snacks were on theme!
Pumpkin smoothie. In the blender – canned pumpkin, frozen banana, maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, and water.
Shockingly, Pumpkin Cheesecake might be Ben & Jerry’s best flavor.
Pumpkin Pie is not Perfect Bar’s best flavor.
The Maple Warlock and Caramel Pumpking are my favorites from Southern Tier.
Fly by Jing chili crisp noodles. These had a nice flavor and good spice but were perhaps not worth dirtying a pot and a bowl.
Pumpkin Chili. Canned pumpkin, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, green onion, poblano, dark kidney beans, roasted zucchini, ground turkey, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, gochugaru, cinnamon, dark soy sauce, and Shafly pumpkin ale. Paired with Trader Joe’s great pumpkin tortilla chips. I topped my bowl with sharp cheddar and pimento cheese and pickled jalapeños.
Leftovers from Her Name is Han made a very good sandwich. Gochujang chicken and onions chopped with sharp cheddar, miso, and Kewpie and baked on sourdough. Plus baked baby broccoli.
This egg salad sando from 7-11 may just be the best sandwich.
Egg tacos. Scrambled eggs with sharp cheddar / sauteed zucchini and butternut squash with salt, pepper, urfa, smoked paprika, and curry powder / topped with onions baked with evoo, honey, basil, and gochugaru / in toasted whole-wheat tortillas.
A take on these baked black bean tacos. My filling used black beans, sauteed mushrooms, green onions, poblanos, taco seasoning, evoo, and toasted walnuts.
* the alternate title for this post was “Let’s Taco ‘Bout it” *
Seed and Mill‘s sesame sundae is Adam’s favorite dessert in the city. We also got a square of pb&j halvah that was amazing.
Hawaiian food from Aloha Alley. We shared their Loco Moco plate (beef patties with beef bone broth mushroom gravy, eggs, rice, and macaroni salad) and the ahi poke (tuna with scallions, seaweed salad, sweet onion, soy garlic shoyu, and crushed macadamia. Plus furikake rice).
Hots Pizza was adorable and had the nicest workers. We swooned over this pickle slice and want to go back to try their other stuff ASAP.
Big Tings in Chelsea Market served us an great jerk chicken sandwich and iced tea with sorrel.
We were totally smitten with the sandwiches from 20 Blocks, every ingredient is clearly chosen with so much care. We shared a Turkey Town (house turkey, fried green tomato, baby romaine, and Cajun mayo on honey whole-wheat) and a Corn Star (charred corn, cowboy candy, and havarti on toasted milk bread).
Dinner at the always excellent Her Name is Han. We got a Mint Garden (green tea infused soju with fresh mint, basil, and perilla leaves) and a Hallabong Spritz (basically an aperol spritz with Jeju citrus).
We shared a bunch of things and are already excited for our appetizers. Korean fried chicken (which comes with a great sauce and wonderful radish kimchi).
Rice cakes with kabocha squash, shishito peppers, and a yuzu gochujang sauce / kimchi cheese pancake topped with a poached egg.
Gochujang grilled chicken thighs (the onion slaw on the side was my favorite bite of the evening). We also had minced beef bulgogi that I forgot to photograph.
P.S. Our actual favorite item of the weekend was a 100/10 cafecito from Titi’s Empanadas on the Lower East Side.
It was an especially successful 2nd week of Apple Month.
These apple rings tie with the Trader Joe’s gummies for best treat of Apple Month. Three different flavors!
Nightingale caramel apple ice cream sandwich is a 10/10.
I also quite enjoyed this crisp apple Olipop.
In other fruits, I tried a chocolate naval orange. It just tasted like a regular orange, but it was the best I’ve ever eaten.
The modern world is a horror-show so you’ve got to make little bits of joy where you can; hence, dinner theme weeks! This one was sandwiches, reimagined. We started out strong with Lido Kosher Deli‘s knishwich with pastrami.
I also had a latke with great applesauce.
Tuna melt nachos. Dill pickle krinkle cut kettle chips / baked with Trader Joe’s Ooey Gooey cheese blend / topped with a mix of canned tuna, Kewpie, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapeños (plus brine), and bread and butter pickles.
Turkey burger fried rice. Leftover brown rice sauteed with fish sauce and soy sauce / sauteed ground turkey with ketchup, yellow mustard, and pickle brine / eggs / green onions / baby tomatoes / pickles (bread and butter and sweet and sour) / sharp cheddar / sesame seeds / and crispy onion and garlic.
Tofu bahn mi panzanella. Boiled super-firm tofu / toasted day old sub roll cubes / quick-pickled cucumber (thin sliced baby cucs left for 24 hours in a mix of sugar, salt, Milu everything seasoning, rice vinegar, and sesame oil) / pickled jalapeños / Trader Joe’s pickled red onions / cilantro / sauced with a mix of Sriracha, Duke’s, lime juice, rice vinegar, and sugar.
You know it’s a good week when you have two kinds of blueberries! Super Jumbo and wild.
On the Emily calendar, September is Apple Month! (October – Pumpkin, November – Pumpkin again and Cranberry, December – Eggnog, Gingerbread, and Mint). I have, of course, amassed a fun stash of apple-themed snacks.
Here was (some of!) the on-theme stuff I ate this week. The apple Altoids are weak but otherwise all winners. Also – the ruby apple Alani is a 10/10 (not a flavor I’d reach for every day but I had no notes).
Later in the week I also scored a Hal’s apple seltzer.
And some Trader Joe’s juicy apple gummies. <– hands down the best apple treat!
I made an apple syrup by boiling down apple cider with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Apple brown betty matcha – vanilla yuzu seltzer, apple syrup, butter extract, and matcha.
Apple smile iced latte – skim milk, espresso, apple syrup, marshmallow fluff, and One Trick Pony cinnamon sugar peanut butter. This was amazing, in no small part thanks to the peanut butter which is wondrously good.
An apple-themed dinner – apple pie chicken salad. Shredded chicken breast with Duke’s, plain skyr, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, cinnamon, smoked paprika, gochugaru, sharp cheddar, green onions, and toasted walnuts. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with honey, yellow mustard, rice vinegar, and chili crisp), apple chips, and toasted sourdough with butter.
Spaghetti with sauce and balls. Whole-wheat spaghetti / gussied up pasta sauce – Trader Joe’s pizza sauce sauteed with roasted garlic, tomato paste, gochugaru, urfa pepper, and dried basil / baked turkey meatballs – ground turkey with panade, egg, hoisin, and urfa pepper / mozzarella pearls.
We also made spaghetti casserole – all of the ingredients above baked in a casserole with sharp cheddar on top. Plus sauteed greens – fennel and broccoli rabe with roasted garlic, smoked paprika, and gochugaru.
I don’t have a name for what this dinner bowl was but its adjective was “yummy!” Waffle fries baked with sharp cheddar, Milu everything seasoning, and za’atar / roasted baby zucchinis / soft-scrambled eggs / homemade artichoke tapenade – marinated artichokes food processed with Castelvetrano olives, capers, evoo, and lemon juice. I went back and topped my whole bowl with smoky chili crisp.
Middle Eastern-inspired rice bowls. Brown rice / roasted cauliflower rice / crispy-baked navy beans / shredded super-firm tofu baked with evoo, za’atar, and urfa pepper / roasted garlic, toasted almond silvers, chopped dried apricots, and chopped olives. This was delicious but when I make it again I would add sauteed onion.
P.S. I’m going to go make a caramel apple cocktail when I hit publish!
Brunch date at Twisted Fork. We had a surprisingly good blueberry pancake iced latte (with maple syrup and blueberry cold foam).
A breakfast martini with gin, triple sec, lemon juice, and orange marmalade.
A bloody mary.
And I had a chicken sandwich on ciabatta with avocado, housemade pickles, and sweet chili aioli.
Dessert yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with granola, honey sunflower butter, and red plum and banana cooked down with butter, brown sugar, and vanilla sugar.
Plain skyr with (microwaved frozen) blueberries, peanut butter, and brownies (THE brownie recipe with the addition of espresso powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips).
I also blended brownies into a shake with vanilla ice cream and coconut syrup.
See also – this iced matcha latte with coconut syrup was lovely.
It’s my birthday this week and my parents sent me a plethora of on-theme snacks that my coworkers and I have been taste-testing.
Speaking of themes, we did another Sandwich Week for dinners! Chicken salad JCT, ie a BLT but with jerky, chips, and tomato. My chicken salad was shredded baked chicken breast with Duke’s, plain skyr, pickled jalapeño brine, and chopped pickles. We mixed in butter mesquite beef jerky (we brought home several bags of jerky from New Mexico and we are obsessed with it) and bbq potato chips and topped with fresh tomato; on sliced whole-wheat. Plus sauteed baby bok choy with green onion, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Takeout from the OG – Roast. Half a fried chicken sandwich – with pickles, Mike’s hot honey, and cheddar / half a filet mignon special – with chimichurri, onion jam, potato straws, mozzarella, and roasted garlic butter / unphotographed fries / and homecooked veggies – sauteed zucchini with tomato, dried basil, sumac, salt and pepper.
Meatball wrap. Mission tortilla / baked turkey meatballs – ground turkey, panade, egg, hoisin, pepper, urfa, and shredded cheese / cream cheese mixed with confit garlic / crispy fried garlic and onions. Plus roasted green beans.
Tofu wrap. Roasted Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch mixed with plain skyr, Kewpie, white miso, lime juice, and cotija / crunchy cheese bites / roasted super-firm tofu tossed in a skillet with honey, lime juice, soy sauce, chili crisp, gochujang, and ginger. Plus sauteed asparagus.
Hot pepper peach chicken bagelwich. One of my most important childhood taste memories is eating hot pepper peach jelly on cream cheese with my Ohio family and that informs this bagel. A leftover Apollo bagel, toasted and topped with a mix of cream cheese, baked chicken, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapeños, and sauteed peaches. Plus baby broccoli sauteed with baby tomatoes, confit garlic, salt, pepper, and gochugaru.
A very important postscript – the 7-11 egg salad sandwich is a 10/10.
French Workshop Crunchy iced latte. Inspired by their Crunchy pastry with vanilla sponge cake, chocolate mousse, dark chocolate, and caramelized hazelnuts; with skim milk and an extra shot, I loved it.
Whole Food’s Caramel Cinema chocolate bar with candy-coated chocolate, caramel pieces, and crunchy corn nuggets. This was one of the best milk chocolate bars I have had in years.
Creamy umami turkey pasta. Whole-wheat pasta tossed with a homemade sauce with sauteed ground turkey, mushrooms, crispy baked shredded extra-firm tofu, caramelized onions, smoked paprika, gochugaru, gochujang, tomato paste, fish sauce, and sour cream. Plus garlic sauteed baby broccoli.
Smoothies! Strawberry malted – frozen strawberries blended with water, malted milk powder, and chocolate protein powder.
Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries blended with water, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, and cottage cheese.
A breakfast-y, dessert-y, waffle yogurt bowl situation. Fage with blueberry topped with blueberries, Evergreen peanut butter banana bread waffles, and maple syrup.
Bagels with cream cheese and lox, chopped. We did a mix of cream cheese, Kewpie, smoked salmon, Trader Joe’s pickled onions, chili crisp, and honey. Plus roasted broccoli.
Egg tacos, chopped. Our filling was a mix of chopped together scrambled egg with extra-sharp cheddar, fried plantains, sauteed poblano pepper and green onion, avocado, and Cholula chipotle cremosa sauce. Plus roasted zucchini.
Savory oatmeal bowls. Our favorite oatmeal (Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds) topped with sauteed kale, crispy baked shredded tofu, a fried egg, and chili crisp.
Blueberry cottage cheese pancakes. I used this recipe but added vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, lemon juice, and some blueberries. Plus sauteed kale and homemade turkey sausage (ground turkey with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, fish sauce, smoked paprika, urfa, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). I coved the whole plate in maple syrup and Cholula chili garlic hot sauce!
